Diversity of Borrelia burgdorfeii Sensu Lato Evidenced by Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism of rrf (5S)-rrl (23S) Intergenic Spacer Amplicons

Abstract

The organization of the ribosomal genes is unique in Borrelia burgdogeri in that the rrl (23s) and rrf (5s) genes are tandemly duplicated. We took advantage of this uniqueness to assess the restriction polymorphism of PCR products obtained with primers at the 3' end of the first rrfgene and at the 5' end of the second rrl gene. An amplicon that was 226 to 266 bp long was generated from 99 of 100 B. burgdorferi sensu lato strains. The nuclease MseI restriction polymorphism of the amplicons provided a useful tool for identifying B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia garinii, Borrelia afielii (formerly group VS461), and Borrelia japonica (formerly group F63B). Furthermore, it allowed us to recognize four new genomic groups, which were confirmed by DNA-DNA hybridization data. Two of these genomic groups comprised European strains, and the other two groups contained American strains. The American genomic groups involved vectors with enzootic cycles quite different from those of B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, which previously was the only Lyme disease Borrelia species known to occur in the United States. Our method could be used for rapid screening of strain collections and for epidemiological and medical purposes.

Telomeres of the linear chromosomes of Lyme disease spirochaetes: nucleotide sequence and possible exchange with linear plasmid telomeres

“…The isolates analysed were as follows: B. afzelii R-IP3, B. garinii 20047 and G2, B. andersonii 19857, B. japonica HO14 and IKA2, as well as isolates DN127, CA55, 25015 (see Casjens et al, 1995 for references for these nine isolates); PotiB1 and VS116 (Postic et al, 1994);and M63 (Nohlmans et al, 1995). These isolates typify the four named and five unnamed non-burgdorferi (sensu stricto) Lyme ᮊ 1997 Blackwell Science Ltd, Molecular Microbiology, 26, 581-596 Fig.…”

Borrelia lusitaniae OspA Gene Heterogeneity in Mediterranean Basin Area

“…Previous studies suggested that this locus is not suitable for analysis of the molecular phylogeny of B. burgdorferi s.l. (De Michelis et al 2000;Postic et al 1994). In order to characterize and classify Borrelia burgdorferi s.l.…”

Delineation of a New Species of the Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato Complex, Borrelia americana sp. nov

“…(20,35,54,56,57,61). The last decade of the 20th century brought a significant increase in the number of identified Borrelia strains in the United States (1,5,34,37,51,66). During 1992 to 1993, isolation of four unassigned American Borrelia sp.…”

“…During 1992 to 1993, isolation of four unassigned American Borrelia sp. strains in California from I. pacificus and I. spinipalpis were reported (51,60,65). In 2007, the MLSA analysis of these strains confirmed their clustering into two groups distant from any other known species.…”